Update, February 2, 2018

Colleagues,

I just wanted to provide a brief update on the situation on campus tonight. As noted in my email to the University community yesterday, we anticipated some protests, which did materialize and were mostly peaceful, as was the student event itself. Toward the end of the evening, after much of the crowd had left, there were some clashes that caused police to move in and disperse the crowd. This occurred with no injuries or arrests. I am sad to report that a CSUPD officer was injured in a one-vehicle ATV accident, after the crowd was moved off campus and unrelated to the dispersal, when his vehicle hit a patch of ice and tipped. His injuries are not life-threatening, and we join as a community in wishing him a swift and full recovery.

In a crowd where emotions are running high and various groups arrive with a goal of violence to spread their fear, it’s sad but not unexpected to have some level of conflict, but we had a solid security plan in place and it worked well to minimize any violence. Our paramount concern from the beginning was to ensure that the student event could take place as planned and that those who wanted to exercise their right to peaceful protest could also do so. I want to thank all members of the law-enforcement community who acted to defend our safety and our constitution. Others have fought to earn those rights and they are not ours alone to fail to defend — they belong to all of us, and Colorado State University defends them proudly. Thank you all for standing together for what we value.